Attaching device for chair legs and the like



Feb. 29, 1944. pA s 2,343,077

ATTACHING DEVICE FOR CHAIR LEGS AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 9, 1942 FRANK7." FARE/5H ATTORN EY [LT/'71. INVENTQR Patented Feb. 29, 19442,343,077. ATTAGHING-DEV-IGE FOR cH-Am LEGS'AND THE LIKE.

tacorporat on.ofMassach sc Application January 9, 19.42,- Serial- Not.4263111 Claims.

'The present invention-relates to animproved device for attachinglegs-to the seats --ofchairs, sofas or any other articles offurniturewherein itisdesired to -firmlyattach a. leg, 7 orsimilar brace,to a member-which-is tobe supported;

The invention-has-particular reference; to articles of furnitureemploying plywood.- as a -base and acovering which completely concealsthe plywood in thefinished article. "Whileordinary-plywood hassuflicientstrength for this purpose and is very readilyworkedinto -various'forms,difiiculties areencountered in securing legs orbraoes tosuchaplywoodbase, due primarilyto the fact that-plywood is not thickenough-to permit the use of the usual holes" forreceiving the endsofthe-legs.

According to the present invention, there-is rovided an improvedattaching device, particularly-adapted for use -in any article offurniture employing a plywood; base, whereby. a leg or brace can beattached to the base with an extremely rigid connection between thetwomembers. Briefly ;stat.ed,..the invention resides in providing a;metallic fixturereadily applied .t-oythe. plywood base, which wfixturecooperatesgwith. a: prepared end. of the leg and anattaching,screw-,-.so.that the related parts are'firmly-heldtogetherrin theirassembled. relation.

:The; above and other. advantageous-1 features: of the inventionwill-hereinaftertmore fully appear from the following-description,considered iin connection with. .the accompanying drawing .in which:

.Fig.: 1" is. a view. in perspective ofa=completed article .offurniture. embodying theinvention, with parts. beingubroken away'toshow'the construction.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, illustratingthe.attachmentotaleg'to a plywood base.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view, illustrating the relation of the parts ofthe device prior to assembly.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the application ofthe attaching device to the underside of the surface to be supported.

Fig. 5 illustrates the attaching device forming an integral part of amolded base.

Referring to the drawing, the invention is shown for purposes ofillustration as being embodied in a piece of furniture, such as a chair,which employs a base I of plywood suitably molded so as to provide asupport for a cushion 2 and a covering 3, as indicated in section. Thebase I is supported by a number of legs 4, and the present inventionresides in the provision of an improved device for attaching the legs 4firmly to-the base! in spitezoithe thinness of the plywood and the factthatit-presentsa somewhat rounded under surface corresponding :to. thecurvature of'the seat.

Asbest .7 shown in Figs. 2 and 3; the attaching deviceconsists ofametallic fixture 5 providing a circular flange 6 having;a-centralopening l. surrounded by a raised-'reenforcing bead-:8; The underside ofthe flange 6 has-.a-sleevell secured thereto within the-'depressionofthebead 8,. as by-weldin-g, so that thesleeveand the'flangeare ineffect,one-piece.

Theoutsidediar'neterof the sleeve 9 is appreciably less than theoutside-diameterof'theupper end -of the leg- 4 which is to--be attached,as is evidentfrom Fig. 3. Prior to the attachment of the leg- 4its'upper end-is provided witha-circular groove ID of such-width-anddepth as to closely receivethelower endof the sleeve-9. T-hegroove I llis concentric with respect to "an opening l l formed: in the center ofthe-leg; with a considerable thi'ckness or leg material disposed betweenthe opening H and the groove Ill. Q

Preparatory to attaching a leg to the base i, an. opening I2..isformed-in):the plyweod large enough: to. :ireely receive the sleeve: 9;after which thefiangerfi is. secured to the upper side of the base by:means of rivetsl-l:3; 'Ifheprepared'leg i is then attached to theabasebyinserting the downwardly projecting end-of: the sleeve 9 in the groovelu -after: which the attachment is comleted-by inserting a W006. screw.M inthe flange opening I, and screwingitdown into the leg opening II.The completedljointz-zthen appears as .inFig, 12,. from which-iitisevidentthat. the

portion of' the screw 14 which is received in the leg opening H, issurrounded by the metallic sleeve 9 seated in the groove l0.Thereforehany tendency. for the woo-d tto spread'away. from. the openingH as the screw is turned in, will result in the wood making an extremelytight fit with the sleeve 9, which is in turn firmly united to the baseI.

With a leg 4 attached to a plywood base i by means of the fixture 5, asdescribed above, the resulting joint is as strong, if not stronger, asthat which would be obtained with a leg received in a hole provided in abase as thick as the combined depth of the flange 6 and sleeve 9.Furthermore, with the metallic sleeve 9 entirely surrounded by woodforming the walls of the groove l0, it is evident that any shrinkage orswelling of the Wood due to atmospheric conditions, will result incontraction of the wood upon the exterior of the sleeve, or expansion ofthe wood Within its interior. In other words, the joint will not workloose as a result of shrinkage or swelling, as frequently results whenthe parts joined are both of wood.

When the legs 4 have been attached to the base I, the fixtures aresubstantially flush with the upper surface thereof. Consequently, whenthe cushion 2 and cover 3 are attached to the base, the existence of thefixtures is entirely concealed from above, while the juncture betweeneach leg and the base has the same appearance as the ordinarywood-to-wood joint.

While the attaching device has been described above as beingparticularly adapted for use in connection with a plywood base, theinvention contemplates its use in connection with other types ofmaterial. For example, in Fig. 4 the fixtures 5' are shown as beingattached to the underside of a sheet metal chair seat l5, as by spotwelding, at l6. For this construction, the uncovered upper side of theseat i5 is entirely smooth, with the welded-on fixtures 5' providingmeans for attaching legs 4' in the manner previously described, and eachleg being firmly secured in position by reason of the cooperationbetween the fixture sleeve and the groove in its end, as shown in Fig.2.

In Fig, 5 the invention is shown as being embedded in a construction inwhich a base I! for a table, or other article of furniture, is moldedfrom a plastic material. When utilizing this construction, a fixture 5"is first assembled on a leg 4" and secured in position by means of thescrew l4. The base I! is then formed directly on the required number oflegs, each equipped with a fixtur 5", by molding any suitableplasticizable material around the flanges 6" so as to embed the latterwithin the base. The several legs then form a substantially integralpart of the completed base, with the flanges 6" serving to firmly anchorthe fixtures so that the legs cannot work loose from the moldedmaterial.

I claim:

1. In an article of furniture, an arrangement for attaching a leg to abase, comprising in combination, a base of relatively thin material, ametallic fixture secured to said base and providing a sleeve extendingfrom one side of said base, a wooden leg having one end surfaceproviding a groove for closely receiving said sleeve, and an attachingmember extending through a central opening in said fixture, providing ahead seated around said fixture opening and a threaded shank received ina central portion of the leg surrounded by said groove for securing thegrooved end of said leg in abutting relation to said base.

2. In an article of furniture, an arrangement for attaching a leg to abase, comprising in combination, a plywood base for an article offurniture, a metallic fixture, means for securing said fixture, to saidbase with said fixture providing a sleeve extending through an openingin said base, and within said securing means a wooden leg having one endsurface providing a groove for closely receiving said sleeve, and anattaching member extending through a central opening in said fixture,providing a head seated around said fixture opening and a threadedtapered shank received in a central portion of the leg surrounded bysaid groove, with said shank serving to expand the said central legportion within said fixture sleeve.

3. In an article of furniture, an arrangement for attaching a leg to abase, comprising in combination, a plywood base for an article offurniture, a metallic sleeve providing a. flange riveted to said baseand a cylindrical sleeve extending through an opening in said base,within the riveted area of said flange, a wooden leg, with one endthereof abutting said base and providing an annular groove for closelyreceiving said fixture sleeve when the parts are assembled, and a woodscrew, providing a head seated in a central opening within said fixtureand a shank screwed into the central portion of said leg within saidfixture sleeve.

4. In an article of furniture, an arrangement for attaching a leg to abase, comprising in combination a base providing a relatively fiatsurface, a fixture providing a flange secured to said base, with ahollow portion of said fixture extending from said base within saidflange, a leg for the support of said base providing a groove at one endfor receiving the hollow portion of said fixture, and means cooperatingwith said fixture and a central portion of said leg bounded by saidgroove for securing said leg and base together, with the grooved end ofsaid leg abutting said base.

5. In an article of furniture, an arrangement for attaching a leg to abase, comprising in combination a base providing a relatively flatsurface, a fixture providing a flange secured to said base, with saidfixture having a sleeve extending from said base within said flange, aleg for the support of said base providing an annular groove at one endfor closely receiving the sleeve of said fixture, an attaching memberextending through a central opening in said fixture flange, with saidattaching member providing a head seated within said fixture openingflush with said flange, and a body in threaded engagement with a centralportion of said leg within said groove and encircled by said sleeve.

FRANK T. PARRISH.

